The Lady Pellaeon
by Andrew Joshua Talon
Summary: In this universe, Pellaeon left a wife and son behind on Imperial Center, whom his political opponents target as soon as they can. To protect her son, the Lady Pellaeon has to reveal a secret she's kept since the Clone Wars... And will change the course of the Empire forever.
1. Chapter 1

_The Lady Pellaeon_

A Star Wars fanfiction by Andrew J. Talon

DISCLAIMER: This is a non-profit fan-based work of prose. Star Wars is the property of Lucasfilm Ltd. and Disney. Please support the official release.

* * *

Mynar Pellaeon had never considered himself particularly brave. He'd signed up for Officer School in the Imperial Academy because it was expected of him. His father was a loyal and stalwart Imperial officer, slowly making his way to command. He'd been favored by Grand Admiral Thrawn himself, after all! His own mother had encouraged him to it, talking about her time piloting small craft during the Clone Wars as a relief nurse. How much he could help people. How much he could do for the Empire.

Grand Admiral Thrawn himself, friend of his father and mother, had said he could do great things if he put his mind to it. He'd only met the man a few times, but every time had left an impact that seemed to turn the galaxy upside down. An alien, the most trusted Grand Admiral of the Emperor himself! With all that encouragement, he wanted to be the best for them. He wanted to be every bit as amazing.

Yet no matter how high his grades, no matter how much he succeeded in the simulators, he could feel it: The disdain and the hate from many of his classmates. All sons of the Imperial nobility, just like him. None with a Mirialian mother. None with green skin.

He'd heard the insults many times growing up: That his father took in a green alien whore who had nowhere else to go. That she was holding back his father's career. That he was a half-breed abomination to the purity of humanity. He couldn't remember the number of fist fights he'd gotten into, defending his beloved parents against such slander. He couldn't remember the times his mother had consoled him, told him she loved him. Or the times his father had made it clear that while he didn't approve of him fighting, he was glad to see him stand up for his family.

Mynar Pellaeon never felt brave. Not really. He just did what needed to be done, especially after his father vanished from Lothal with the Grand Admiral. He kept to his studies, pushed by a genuine need to get out there and teach the Rebels a lesson for what they'd done to his father, to his mentor. A genuine desire to fight for the Empire.

Yet that desire was stomped on, day after day, by the disdain and distrust and arrogance. The smug indifference.

Even so, when word reached Coruscant that the Emperor had died, he kept to his duty in the Academy. Even when word that the fleets of the Empire were in disarray and the Rebellion was coming for them, Mynar still prepared to fight for the people who despised him. All because of his memory of his father, and his father's commanding officer. All to keep his mother's precarious position in Imperial society safe.

Even with all that hard work though, it became clear it wasn't enough. Not enough to make the Empire see him any differently.

He'd come home from the Academy as day turned into night, wanting to personally inform his mother that he'd been accepted into a fighter wing for Coruscant's defense. The words died on his lips as he saw her forlorn face, her beautiful brown hair in a simple bun behind her head. She held up a holocom, and activated it with a press of a button. Captain Yonka, a friend of his father's, appeared with a grim expression on his chubby face.

 _"General Carvin's going to move on you. He's been waiting long enough and found a lieutenant eager to do the dirty work. There's a shuttle under my people: Coordinates to follow..."_

"Mother?" Mynar asked. She just hugged him, and then suggested they get packing. Just a few belongings they couldn't live without: His mother had not kept many items of her own, which was unusual for an Imperial lady. It did allow them to get out quickly, taking the family speeder out to a place nearby the coordinates. Here they got out, and walked into a shopping center. Mynar scanned the area keenly, ever mindful that every droid, every person, could be keeping a look out for Admiral Carvin.

They'd nearly made it to the hangar, when a low whistle broke the air in the grimy alley they'd been walking down. A spotlight shone down on them from a military speeder, which descended in front of them. It bore the markings of Imperial Internal Security, and four Stormtroopers plus an officer stepped out. The officer was unfortunately familiar to Mynar, and he bared his teeth in anger at the smug expression the man wore.

"Lieutenant Crespo," he seethed.

"Oh look, it recognizes me," the lieutenant said mockingly. "I suppose all that time you spent in my seat at the head of the class taught you something."

"More than you," Mynar retorted. Crespo shook his head, pointing a blaster at them.

"This is for the best, you know," Crespo said with mock sincerity. "A pair of alien traitors, shot down trying to defect to the Rebels. Without Pellaeon or that alien freak to protect them." He grinned savagely, unlocking the safety on his weapon. "It will prove to the Empire that none of you can be trusted. We'll fight on, and become stronger without you mongrels weighing us down."

Mynar stepped in front of his mother, and held his arms out wide. "If you want to kill someone, just kill me," he said, and to his credit he didn't shake as he said the words. "Just let my mother go."

"What, so she can breed more like you?" Crespo sneered. "Better to put the bitch down before she can produce any more embarrassments."

Mynar gritted his teeth, rage wanting him to tear into the smug little jackass but fear for his mother holding him back. He stayed in front of her, hoping she would run, try to save herself...!

Instead, she stepped out in front of him, as calm and composed as she ever was. She gazed at Crespo in pity, before she looked at the Stormtroopers. She took a deep breath, and waved her hand as Mynar felt... Something ripple through him.

"You are not here to harm us. You are here to escort us to the shuttle," she said in a calm, clear voice. Mynar's jaw dropped, but his incredulous cry was cut off as every single Stormtrooper, as one, repeated her words.

"We are not here to harm you. We are here to escort you to the shuttle," they intoned. Crespo's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Wha-How did you-?!" Crepo gaped in horror as Mynar's mother reached out her hand again, and his blaster flew out of his own. She caught it, and turned it on him.

"This man is a traitor. You will execute him," Mynar's mother said, again calm and cool. The stormtroopers repeated this, and turned their weapons on the now panicking Crespo.

"You can't-I command you to-!"

His order was cut off as his body was pierced by blaster fire. He fell to the ground, smoking, his lifeless eyes locked onto Mynar's mother. She very calmly lowered the blaster, and looked back at the Stormtroopers.

"Escort us to the shuttle," she ordered. The Troopers fell into formation around them, and she took the still stunned Mynar's hand. He let himself be led by her, his eyes locked onto her slim frame. As though he was seeing her for the very first time.

"M-Mother?" He whispered. "What... How did you...?"

His mother looked up at him, smiled, and sighed. Her blue eyes were filled with sadness.

"I'm sorry Mynar. There's so much I wish I could have told you... So much I wanted to. I had hoped you might never find out, but, well..." She shrugged. "Please know though, that no matter what... I love you. And your father."

Mynar slowly nodded, and the pieces fit together in his head. Just one word sprang to his lips: " _Jedi_."

Lady Barriss Pellaeon, formally the disgraced Jedi Knight Barriss Offee, smiled and nodded.

* * *

 _I'm building a new canon for Star Wars that combines the best of the Disney with the best of Legends. This is just one of several stories I plan to fill out the universe. If you'd like to join in, look me up on Spacebattles. I'd love to have you aboard._


	2. Chapter 2

_The Lady Pellaeon_

A Star Wars fanfiction by Andrew J. Talon

DISCLAIMER: This is a non-profit fan-based work of prose. Star Wars is the property of Lucasfilm Ltd. and Disney. Please support the official release.

This part written by K9theFirst1.

* * *

 _Shortly after the Declaration of a New Order and the Jedi Purge, on Corellia..._

* * *

"I'll admit I was surprised to get your message Aba," the old being said, "I'm not the young man I was. I don't take many jobs anymore."

Aba Palleon sighed, her expression showing resigned disappointment. "So you won't help us?"

"Oh I never said that. Your grandfather was my first real client after all. Not only did he pay well, but insisted on covering expenses to boot. No one in the business is lucky enough to have that kind of break. I owe you and yours a heavy debt for that. And I always pay my debts. So, what's the job?"

"My son, Gilad, has chosen a bride."

"My condolences to the condemned man."

"Cute. The girl is a gem. Unfortunately, she has... A past. One that could create complications should she be discovered for who she truly is by the authorities."

"Hmmm... So the job is to doctor up an identity for this girl I take it."

"Yes, here is her cover story."

Looking at the data pad's screen with an old professional's efficiency, the man quickly calculated a thousand plans and the relevant details, contacts, and favors he could call in to complete each one, and discarding unlikely or simply foolhardy ones in favor of the one most likely to succeed.

"Let's see... Native to a prominent aristocrat family of the Mirilian colony system of Bog'thal, sole survivor of said family from the massacre there when the droid army used the planet to experiment with their own version of a Base Delta Zero..."

"We felt that a known atrocity would work both as a way to make investigators less likely to pry, and to justify a lack of documentation... Or relatives and friends to give an alibi."

"Smart girl. Now then, this Barriss kid then wanders for the next few years from refugee camp to refugee camp, then after the war starts working the odd job here and there, gets mugged, rescued by the dashing man now her fiancé and all that romantic rot-gut."

He scratched his cheek, deciding on a plan, and what he needed.

"Well, it's simple I'll say that. Though if you want this done right, you'll need to do more than just forge a few documents. You need to make a profile for the girl. Birth certificate, prints, speeder's license. All the things that would be in the Imperial record files. No amount of war crimes is gonna get rid of that. And if someone gets it into their heads to look into things, they'll notice. Now, what else do I need to know about the girl?"

Aba was about to answer that when the comm built into her chair chimed.

"Yes?"

"Mother, Barriss and I have returned from the erands you requested. Where do you want these Nubian Guber Fish steaks?"

"Gilly! perfect timing! Just put them to the protocol droid, then the two of you please come to the south parlor. I'm in negotiations with an old friend of the family to help us with Barri's little problem.

Minutes later saw the newly minted Captain Gilad Palleon and Barriss enter the suite. Aba Palleon and her guest stood to great the new arrivals as Madam Palleon gestured for introductions.

"Gilad, Barriss, allow me to introduce-"

"Sithspit!" Barriss cursed, "You're that bounty hunter from the archives!"

Cad Bane only blinked once, before his face turned up in a greedy grin.

"Well well well... If it isn't the little Jedi girl that blew up Corusant... And framed her little friend for it... Aba, you had my attention. Now you have my interest. And you can forget the fee. This one's on the house."

* * *

 _I'm building a new canon for Star Wars that combines the best of the Disney with the best of Legends. This is just one of several stories I plan to fill out the universe. If you'd like to join in, look me up on Spacebattles. I'd love to have you aboard._


	3. Chapter 3

_The Lady Pellaeon_

A Star Wars fanfiction by Andrew J. Talon

DISCLAIMER: This is a non-profit fan-based work of prose. Star Wars is the property of Lucasfilm Ltd. and Disney. Please support the official release.

This part written by IslandHopper.

* * *

 _Some time before BBY 4._

* * *

"I've done things Barriss. Terrible things."

"So have I Gilad."

"I told myself. I was just following orders. Just following orders."

"I convinced myself that I was right. That what I had done was necessary."

The officer's hand reached out for the former jedi's. She took it. Lime green fingers intertwining with human pink.

"I killed innocents with bombs."

"I helped put sentients into slavery."

"I framed my best friend. A hero. A good woman. And I ruined her life."

"I carried out orders that got civilian vessels destroyed for only the suspicion of harbors get rebels."

She pulled him into an embrace. The two clutched at each other in the quiet solitude of his family's study. "Look at the two of us" she whispered into his neck, "Between us I'd say we make quite the monster."

Gilad tightened his arms around this woman. This charming, sweet, and loving woman who had slipped into his life. "You are not a monster Barriss. Do you hear me. You. Are not. A monster." He raised his face, his eyes looking into hers. "A monster would not feel the slightest regret." His voice seemed to gain in energy, like a starships engines flaring to life, " A monster would not devote herself to more charities than our protocol droid can keep up. A monster would not..." For a moment he could not breath, the words catching, "... Care for a man such as I."

Barriss' eyes watered. She raised a hand to lightly caress a cheek, her thumb just brushing at the edge of that mustache she had grown to love. Love like the rest of this wonderful, brave, and honorable man who had shown her compassion when it could have cost him everything. "Then neither are you Gilly." The former Jedi rested her forehead against his. "A monster wouldn't have done half the things you've done for me. Despite the possible costs to your life and your future. A monster," she smirked, " would not 'care' for a woman such as I." Even with her eyes closed, her connection to the Force stunted by her own will, she felt the flush that went through him, and the love it accompanied.

"Then my lady," He murmured to her, his whiskers tickling her face, "What are two beings such as us to do?"

"Do what we can, when we can. To put some light into this dreadful universe."

"All the less dreadful with you in it."

She couldn't resist swatting his shoulder.

"Oh Gilly."

She couldn't resist smiling either.

* * *

 _I'm building a new canon for Star Wars that combines the best of the Disney with the best of Legends. This is just one of several stories I plan to fill out the universe. If you'd like to join in, look me up on Spacebattles. I'd love to have you aboard._


	4. Chapter 4

_The Lady Pellaeon_

A Star Wars fanfiction by Andrew J. Talon

DISCLAIMER: This is a non-profit fan-based work of prose. Star Wars is the property of Lucasfilm Ltd. and Disney. Please support the official release.

* * *

 _Some time after ABY 9, the Thrawn Trilogy._

* * *

They stared at eachother across the room, as years of regrets and memories flashed through their minds. And then Ahsoka ignited her lightsabers and pointed them at Barriss, a snarl on her face.

"You _bitch..._ What are you doing here?!"

"My job," Barriss said tightly.

"For the Empire?" Ahsoka hissed. "A Sith Lady now?"

"No," Barriss said calmly. "I'm a Jedi. An Imperial Jedi."

"I'm-I'm sorry, _what?!"_ Ahsoka demanded, a disbelieving laugh on her lips. Barriss shook her head.

"The Empire is done with Darksiders. Especially after Lumiya's attack. And the Darkside Cult. They're done with them. I offered to teach Force Sensitives in the _right_ way. The Jedi Way for them. So we're Jedi."

"You're serving the same people who _murdered_ all our friends?! Who killed so many innocents?!" Ahsoka spat in her rage, her fingers tightening around her lightsabers. Barriss remained perfectly still, her eyes locked on Ahsoka's. Those blue orbs were older, and more tired than Ahsoka remembered... But the anger she remembered wasn't there. Still...

"Those people are gone," Barriss said calmly. "My husband accepted my past. He _helped me_ come back to the Light. And Grand Moff Kaine: He's trying to live up to the _ideals_ of the New Order, not what Palpatine made it!"

Ahsoka laughed bitterly, angrily. "So you're back on the Light and serving the kinder, _gentler Empire?!"  
_  
Barriss took a deep breath. "Darth Vader came back to the Light, did he not? And he was the one who destroyed the Order in the first place."

"Anakin also _died_ shortly after that. It is easier to forgive the dead," Asoka snarled, taking a threatening step forward.

Barriss took another deep breath, closing her eyes. She opened them again, and opened her robes. Ahsoka spied the lightsaber hanging from her belt.

"I know I've done horrible things. I betrayed you. I killed innocents. I ruined so much. I was stupid and full of pride and anger..." Barriss took a deep breath and drew her own lightsaber. She held it out... And dropped it on the ground.

"But please, Ahsoka. Don't let me be what drives you to the Darkside. Please. Don't."

Ahsoka grit her teeth. She stared down at the lightsaber, and looked back up at Barriss. The Mirialan former Jedi Padawan made no move to reclaim it.

"Is this some attempt to become one with the Force to annoy me?" Asoka growled but lowered her lightsabers. Barriss shook her head.

"No. This is someone realizing the mistakes she's made, and now she's trying to make up for them," she said earnestly.

"You...you stole any chance I had to try to save Anakin," Asoka growled, spitting the words out like poison. "Rex and I weren't there because of what you did... Everything... _Everything...!"  
_  
"I know," Barriss said softly.

"I don't know if we'd be able to save him or we'd die with the rest," Asoka said. She looked down at Barriss's lightsaber, before turning off her own. "But not being able to know is what hurts the most of what you did," she finished.

"There's nothing I can say to make up for this. There's nothing I can do to change the past," Barriss said. "All I can do is try to build a better tomorrow. The Empire has changed. The worst people are gone. The Darksiders are gone. And they're helping me to create a new Jedi Order." Her gaze was still sad, but full of grim determination.

"One that is kept in check and not allowed to set policy. One that isn't so insular and blind to the real world it can't see the truth staring it in the face."

"One that I hope doesn't deny families," Asoka remarked.

"Of course we will allow families," Barriss stated. "Why wouldn't I allow them to have something I have?"

"You do realize there were rumors your Jedi Master was your mother right?" Asoka asked.

"There were a lot of rumors back then," Barriss sighed. "But she was not my mother, and I wish to build a Jedi Order that doesn't make the same mistakes as the one before. Besides, I couldn't very well join your Order, could I?" Barriss asked, with deep regret in her voice.

"You really think Luke considers what I say that highly? He listens to Han Solo of all people..." Asoka said in mild surprise.

"I did this, because it is my task," Barriss said softly. "Because the Empire did come about because of me. And now the Empire is rebuilding the Jedi Order. I am rebuilding the Jedi Order."

There, Ahsoka saw something in Barriss's eyes. A deep guilt and a deep regret. Something she saw in the mirror, far too often.

Barriss pressed her hands together, and squeezed them tightly. "It would have been easier if I died... But I didn't. I have people I love, people I care for. A son I want to grow up to be a good man. And I want to make sure that those mistakes are _never_ repeated. So please Ahsoka... Can we at least work together on this? Can you let me start to make things right?"

Ahsoka was silent for some time. She sighed, and summoned Barriss' lightsaber. She tossed it to Barriss, who caught it.

"You're not the only one who has a lot to make up for," Ahsoka said softly. "And if we let that consume us, we'll never get anything done."

Barriss nodded slowly. "I understand," she said.

"You lead," Ahsoka said, gesturing to the door. Barriss nodded.

"I understand that, too..."

* * *

 _I'm building a new canon for Star Wars that combines the best of the Disney with the best of Legends. This is just one of several stories I plan to fill out the universe. If you'd like to join in, look me up on Spacebattles. I'd love to have you aboard._


	5. Chapter 5

_The Lady Pellaeon_

A Star Wars fanfiction by Andrew J. Talon

DISCLAIMER: This is a non-profit fan-based work of prose. Star Wars is the property of Lucasfilm Ltd. and Disney. Please support the official release.

* * *

 _Set in BBY 17, or two years after Revenge of the Sith_

* * *

Fear had been an ever present foe from the moment she was taken to the Jedi Temple. She'd learned, over time, how to keep her fear at bay. How to master it. She thought it was something she had conquered. She thought it was something she could handle.

Luminara Unduli, Jedi Master, was wrong. She was completely wrong. Fear was her life now. Fear set her heart beating hard and fast. Fear drove her from alley to alley in the depths of Coruscant. Fear was every single clone trooper she had trusted now hunting her down.

Yet fear would not win the day. Not if she could help it. She had one friend in the rich quarters of Republic Center-Now Imperial Center, not that Luminara would call it that. One friend still alive.

She climbed up a maintenance lift shaft of the starscraper, slowly ascending in the darkness. Luminara paused every now and again, reaching out through the Force as discretely as she could. No interest in her, no knowledge that she was there. The cold metal walls remained a sanctuary.

Fear was there, but she could handle it. She found a panel on the inside of the shaft, and gently removed it with just a Force pull. She crawled through the hole, and carefully slid the panel back into place. The apartment was dark, and Luminara walked through it silently. She stayed away from the windows.

"Jakker? Jakker, where are you?" Luminara whispered as the lights from the air traffic shone faintly from the windows.

The Force screamed, and Luminara ignited her lightsaber just in time to block a red blade. The tall form of a Pau'an loomed into view, his red lightsaber glowing hotly in the darkness.

"Senator Jakker-Sun has been taken into protective custody, as it was feared he would be assassinated by a Jedi exactly two years after the destruction of their Order," he said with a sickly parody of a friendly smile. Luminara's face screwed up in pain.

"Oh no," she breathed, recognizing the face. The Inquisitor threw her with a Force Push into the wall, and she slammed against it hard. She fell, but managed to throw a table back at him. The Inquisitor dodged this as it smashed through the glass behind them. He accelerated to try and cut Luminara down. The Jedi Master parried his strikes, but his fury was pushing her back. Luminara gave ground, getting her back to the window… And then flung herself out. She fell for a footbridge, managing to land roughly. Ignoring the gasps of the citizens, she sped for the next building. She could sense more interest towards her, more eyes and thoughts towards a Jedi. The Inquisitor's thoughts were harder to find, but he was closing in. She knew it.

She could sense… Something familiar? Someone else? Was it the Inquisitor? No… It was nearer. It was-!

Blaster fire struck just behind and around her, a shot hitting her side. She gasped in pain, and leaped off the walkway. She used the Force to guide herself down, gliding for the next, nearby starscraper. She landed on a balcony, rolling into a heap. The pain pounded through her body, but Luminara kept going. She opened the door to the apartment, and hobbled her way into the anteroom. She sensed the familiarity again, and looked up. Her eyes widened as the blaster pointed in her face, and the one holding it.

"Barriss?"

It was her. Her hair was longer and elegantly coiffed, she was dressed like an upper class Imperial lady, and her facial markings were altered but there was no mistaking who she was. Her presence in the Force was strange, almost muted. Her free hand was resting on her belly, which was rounded from pregnancy. On that free hand was a wedding band, shining dimly in the lights of the apartment.

Barriss shook just a little, but stayed steady. Yet the conflict was obvious in her eyes, in her body. Luminara took in her former apprentice, studying her. The only sounds were their breathing and the sirens of the patrol speeders.

Finally, Luminara found words: A question she had to ask.

"Bariss... Does he know?"

Barriss started, and stared in shock. She bit her lower lip, and nodded to her old master.

"...Yes."

Luminara nodded. She sucked in a deep breath. She could sense the Inquisitor closing in. She couldn't run. She couldn't fight. Not with Barriss here. Not with her child. So, just one more question to ask.

"...Are you happy?"

Barriss looked and felt guilty. Yet she managed to nod.

"Absolutely," she admitted.

Luminara looked on, closed her eyes and nodded in acceptance.

"Very well..."

The roar of repulsorlifts filled the room as a speeder pulled up to the apartment, shining lights through the windows. Framed by the lights was the Inquisitor, his eyes locked on them. Luminara looked back at the Inquisitor, and back at her former apprentice. She gave Barriss a sad smile.

"You'll forgive me one day."

"Wha-?" Barriss asked, but Luminara seized her. Barriss struggled, trying to get away. Luminara reached out through the Force, and found the trigger of the blaster. She commanded it to close.

The blaster erupted, multiple shots piercing her body. Through her stomach, and her chest. The pain was brief, as everything went numb. She vaguely felt herself fall onto the floor, and saw the cool whites and grays of the ceiling. Barriss's face filled her darkening vision, tears falling from her eyes. She was angry, she was shocked, she was terrified and grief stricken…

But she was safe.

Luminara Unduli closed her eyes, giving her life up to the Force… With a smile and without an ounce of fear.

* * *

The Imperial police gave her warm caff and a blanket, and took her away to her kitchen. She sat at the table and stared at the cup, answering their questions in a lifeless, droid like tone. The investigators cleaned up the living room.

Finally, the investigators were done. One, a polite young man, gave her a small smile.

"It's all right. The Jedi… She can't harm you anymore. You did the right thing," he reassured her. Barriss continued to stare at the mug, the smile on her mentor's face burned into her mind. "My lady? Are you all right?"

Barriss slowly looked up at him. She looked to the living room. Where her mentor, the closest thing she had had to a mother, lay under a sheet. Laid dead. By her own hand.

She looked back at the caff.

"I will be all right," she said softly. She rested her hand on her belly. "We'll be all right."

The investigator nodded, frowning. He offered a comforting, if awkward, pat on her shoulder. "Your husband has been informed. He should be home soon."

Barriss nodded again. "Thank you…" She stared back out at the living room. She saw the body of her master, encased in a metal box, being escorted out by the tall Inquisitor. He paid her no mind, not a hint of suspicion in him. She watched them board the speeder with the body of her mentor, the doors shutting tightly on them. The speeder pulled away. Barriss looked back down at her caff, shaking as the tears began to fall again. She rested her hand on her belly, and felt the tiny life underneath her fingers.

" _Thank you,"_ she whispered bitterly.

* * *

 _I'm building a new canon for Star Wars that combines the best of the Disney with the best of Legends. This is just one of several stories I plan to fill out the universe. If you'd like to join in, look me up on Spacebattles. I'd love to have you aboard._


End file.
